Boat structure



P. HoRsDL BOAT 'STRUCTURE Filed Apri 17. 195s Dec. l0, 1957 United States Patent O BOAT STRUCTURE Paul Horsdal, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Application April 17, 1956, Serial No. 578,763

1 Claim. (Cl. 114-140) This invention relates Ito boat and ship structures.

It has frequently been proposed in the past to modify the conventional boat structure in order to reduce drag in the water and to impart a more stabilized motion thereto. However, none of such proposals have resulted in any major change in boat construction for a great many years largely, it is believed, because the degree of improvement achieved did not justify the expense involved.

It is an object of this invention to provide a boat structure which substantially reduces resistance to passage in the water and which stabilizes and promotes forward motion of the boat in the water.

The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of a boat incorporating the structure of the present invention,

Figure 2. is a bottom plan view of the boat, and

Figure 3 is a partial cross-sectional View of the boat.

In the drawing, 1 is a boat of generally conventional form but having a broad, substantially flat or slightly curved bottom 2.

In accordance with the invention, the usual single or multiple keel is replaced by a plurality, preferably three, toats 3. An important feature of the invention resides in the fish-shaped nature of the oats. It will be observed that each oat is, in shape, substantially an exact replica f a fish, the ns thereof being omitted. The shape shown has been carefully selected as being that most adapted to provide as little resistance as possible to passage through the water. To this end, in the modification shown, the head portion of each float, is substantially an exact replica of the head of a bone fish from the nose to the gills thereof, and the remaining portion thereof is substantially an exact replica of an eastern brook trout from the gills to the tail thereof.

Each float comprises a hollow watertight body preferably composed of light-weight metal, such as aluminum or magnesium. Each float has a length substantially three-quarters that of the length of the boat, the other dimensions thereof being proportionately those of the sh whose shape it follows.

As shown, one lloat is located along the center line of the bottom of the boat with its nose directly under the bow. Each of the other two floats is placed about one-quarter of its length farther to the rear of the boat and adjacent the outside of the boat bottom. It will be ICC observed that the tails of the outer floats are located closely adjacent the stern of the boat.

The floats may be attached to the boat bottom in any suitable manner and are positioned thereon with their longitudinal axis in substantially horizontal position when the boat is riding in water. As shown, each float is provided with an upwardly directed web 4 secured to a bracket 5 which is xed to the boat bottom by bolt or like means 6.

In use, the first or center oat displaces the water to either side thereof with little resistance because of its sh-shaped nose. The water displaced by the outer ioats is free to move to the outside of the boat, but when the water is moved thereby towards the center of the boat, it will be forced against the tapering sides of the center float. However, since the force of the water displaced by the center oat is approximately equal thereto, there is very little water disturbance and no creation of eddies.

lt has been found that a boat constructed in accordance with the invention, by reason of the elimination of energyconsuming eddies during passage in water, possesses substantial advantages over a conventional boat, i. e., one of exactly the same weight, beam and length, but without the oats described. Thus, in a pool of still water, under the same propelling force, the boat of the present invention moved forward a distance of at least 20 feet While the conventional boat moved only about 10 feet. In a pool with disturbed water the present boat moved forward slowly, due to the six tapering sides of the oats, but the conventional boat moved erratically and in a sidewise direction. Water resistance, both in loaded and unloaded condition, was much less in the boat of the present invention.

An incidental feature of the present invention is that Ithe air filled watertight floats constitute buoyant bodies which will prevent sinking of the boat should it become swamped or overturned in a storm.

I claim:

In a boat having a broad, substantially at bottom, three substantially fish-shaped floats xed to and suspended from said bottom, each said float comprising a hollow watertight body and a sharp nose located adjacent the bow of said boat and a flattened tail located adjacent the stern of said boat and disposed in a plane substantially perpendicular to said bottom, one of said oats being disposed along the center line of said bottom and each of the o-ther floats being located along the outside of said bottom, each said float having a length approximately three-quarters that of said boat, each said outside float being located rearwardly of said center oat a distance approximately one-quarter of its length.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 685,648 Schoenhut Oct. 29, 1901 1,705,303 Nagy Mar. 12, 1929 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,735 Great Britain 1895 822,861 France Oct. 4, 1937 

